


Tuesday Morning

by HippieGeekGirl



Series: Family of Choice [2]
Category: The A-Team (2010), The A-Team - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic, Families of Choice, Family, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Mention of Mental Health Issues, Post-Canon, RP-inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-18
Packaged: 2018-02-05 06:05:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1808113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HippieGeekGirl/pseuds/HippieGeekGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The beginning of an average day in the Murdock-Peck household.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tuesday Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Utterly shameless and completely plotless fluff. Because I love imagining these two growing old together.

The other side of the bed was empty when he woke up, but that wasn't unusual. Murdock had been an early riser ever since they'd known each other. Face could hear clattering pans in the kitchen as he sang along with his usual playlist – a mix of classic rock songs with the occasional god-awful pop monstrosity thrown in for variety.

They'd been waking up like this for the better part of two decades, ever since they'd finally been pardoned. (Technically, exonerated of the original crime and pardoned for what had come after, as Murdock still sometimes pointed out, but it was almost entirely semantics by this point.) Eighteen years, two adopted kids and a whole lot of adjustment later, sometimes it still felt surreal. 

He heard the music from the kitchen switch to the dulcet tones of Freddie Mercury. Definitely time to get up, before Murdock woke up the neighbors with Bohemian Rhapsody again.

He swore quietly at the various aches and pains caused by his sitting up. Other than going gray (which Murdock always insisted made him look distinguished), the thing he hated most about aging was old injuries coming back to haunt him. When he thought about some of the things they'd done over the years, it was a small miracle that the whole team was still around, though secretly he'd always suspected Hannibal would live to be a hundred just to be stubborn.

On his way to the kitchen, he was accosted by one of the small herd of pets Murdock had acquired over the years. Said acquisition had begun shortly after they'd moved into their current home and continued fairly steadily since. They'd volunteered at the local animal shelter for a while, and inevitably many of their foster pets had become permanent additions to the family – dogs, cats, a few rodents of various species, even a tortoise named Bubba who'd staked his claim to the backyard. Murdock would have brought home half a zoo if Face hadn't convinced him that enough was enough. The man had a nurturing streak a mile wide. 

“Morning!” Murdock called cheerfully, interrupting his solo karaoke session to poke at something on n the stove. The chubby orange tabby curled around Face's legs as he took his usual seat at the table. “Don't let him con you into givin' him more breakfast, I already fed everyone.”

“I can always spot a con, you know that.” He smiled as a plate of Murdock's typical strange-but-probably-edible breakfast fare was set in front of him. “You're in a good mood.” 

“Yep,” he agreed, drawing out the pop of the P at the end. “Got lessons later.” He'd been a devoted stay-at-home dad while their kids were young, and once they reached school age he'd found a part-time job as an instructor at a local airfield. He'd told Face once that flying was like a kind of therapy for him, and he was glad he still got to do it 

“You take your meds today?” he asked quietly. Normally Murdock hated being asked and always insisted with varying degrees of annoyance that he knew how to take care of himself, but after a few rough patches he'd reluctantly agreed that it would be better all around if Face reminded him. Some of the pills he was on had some nasty potential side effects, and the ongoing balancing act of weighing the benefits against the risks was something they worked on together. He still had more good days than bad, and Face clung to that fact, even as he knew it could change at any time.

“All present and accounted for,” Murdock replied with no trace of resentment. It had taken a long time for him to feel completely comfortable discussing his mental health with Face, not because he didn't trust him but because he hadn't wanted to burden him with it any more than he already had. It was a while before they figured out that the mutual 'hurt myself trying to protect you' cycle they'd gotten themselves into really wasn't going to work in the long run, but they'd managed to make it through. He leaned in to give his husband a kiss on the cheek. “Go get dressed, I got everything under control here.”

As he headed back to the bedroom, he could hear their daughter waking up across the hall. Anna was fifteen now, still every inch a tomboy, and never walked anywhere she could run. It tended to make life rather noisy. Their son had already left home, heading off to study aerospace engineering at an aeronautical college in Arizona. He'd inherited his fascination with planes from Murdock and his love of all things mechanical from his Uncle Bosco, who'd once spent half a day dismantling a car engine to show him what each part was and how they fit together. Face wasn't sure which of them had been prouder when the school's acceptance letter had shown up in the mail. 

Down the hall, the music started up again with the Five Stairsteps song he knew Anna particularly liked. The sing-along had become a duet. He hummed along as he pulled a shirt over his head, letting his eyes linger on the series of framed photos on the dresser. The smallest was a black and white photo of the whole team, just hours after they'd finally become free men. They all looked incredibly tired, and B.A., for reasons known only to himself, still looked slightly pissed off. Probably frustrated they'd had to go through the process to begin with, Face figured. 

Next was a snapshot of him and Murdock on their honeymoon trip to Disneyland. He still wasn't exactly sure how Murdock had talked him into wearing the mouse ear hat, but he had to admit he kind of pulled off the look. The clear, unshadowed looks of happiness on both their faces definitely helped. The similar photo next to it had been taken several years later, when they'd returned to the park with the whole family. They'd all worn the Mickey ears that time.

The music faded out as he finished dressing. Several minutes later there was a knock on the door as Anna poked her head in. “Hey, Dad. Pop said to ask if it was okay if I went to the Millers' house after school.” 

“Sure, as long as it's okay with them.” Slipping his watch around his wrist, he marveled yet again at the fact that his life was this normal. Considering his own childhood misadventures he'd figured he was due for some sort of karmic payback, but instead he'd ended up with a couple of pretty damn awesome kids. 

Murdock slipped into the room behind their daughter, ruffling her hair as he passed. “Better get goin', Tadpole, the bus'll be here soon.”

“I keep telling you guys I'm way too old for that nickname,” she huffed, although there was a hint of a smile underneath it. 

“You know that's just going to make him say it more, right?” Face pointed out, chuckling at the grin Anna wasn't able to hide. “Go on, don't miss your ride.” 

“You know she's gonna be driving soon,” Murdock pointed out as she left, taking a seat on the bed next to Face. 

“Don't remind me, I've got enough gray hairs already.” He instinctively leaned back against his partner's shoulder, the support as constant as it had been since they'd first met. “Breakfast go okay?”

“Mmhmm, more or less,” he confirmed. “You know how she is. She'd rather talk than eat.”

He nodded, remembering the broken arm she'd gotten from jumping out of a tree at age six, which was when they realized that their little girl's need for activity and lack of impulse control might be more than just personality traits. Between the appetite loss caused by the ADHD medication and the calorie loss from being in frequent motion, it was still a bit of a struggle to get her to eat enough to keep weight on. He tried not to worry about how she'd do once she was on her own. 

“You're thinking again,” Murdock observed. 

“Yeah, I do that sometimes.” The comeback came easily, their banter familiar and comfortable as he remained lost in thought. He'd grown up without a family and though he'd learned to hide it, that loss had always stayed with him. He'd found a surrogate one in the Army, thanks to his teammates who cared about him as more than simply a fellow Ranger. And now, with one child out of the nest and the other nearly grown, he couldn't help thinking that this was the family he was always meant to have.

He was pulled back to the present by a pillow hitting him in the face, as Murdock wrapped his arms around his waist a second later. “Come _on_ , you're no fun when you're moody.” 

“Since when am I moody?” He squirmed out of the embrace and pushed him against the bed, leaning over him. He was trying to look offended, but it was hard to scowl when he was trying not to laugh. 

“Uh, since _forever_. Don't you have to go to work?”

That was another thing he'd never have expected twenty years ago – a desk job. It actually wasn't too much of a change from what he'd been doing, to be honest. The main difference was that now all of his deals were legal and aboveboard. “I'm the boss. I'm allowed to be late.”

“ _Templeton Peck_.” Murdock attempted a stern tone, slipping into the affected British accent he used the most. “What kind of example are you setting for your employees?”

Face pulled him into his arms, kissing him deeply. “I'm demonstrating a healthy work-life balance.” 

“Oh. Well, when you put it that way...”

Face laughed, holding him close as he laid back. “I love you, you know that?”

“I kinda figured that out a while ago.” He sneaked a hand underneath the hem of Face's shirt, snuggling up against his chest. “Love you too, baby.”

They laid together peacefully until Murdock spoke up again. “You got that business trip in a few weeks, right?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. He'd more than his fill of travel during their years in the military and on the run, and he hated being away from home even for a little while. It couldn't be helped, though. Some things still had to be done in person. 

“You gonna let me take you this time?” 

“Maybe.” He'd made the offer several times, but Face had yet to agree to it. Apparently in Murdock's mind, love meant never having to fly commercial. 

Murdock ran a hand through his hair, pausing as he reached the lighter patches at his temple. “C'mere and cuddle up with me, Faceman.” 

“Just cuddle?” He gave him his best puppy eyes. He was far from the expert at that particular method of persuasion, but Murdock wasn't exactly hard to convince when it came to this. 

“We'll see how it goes.” 

Face had just enough time to offer a quick thank you to any deities that might be listening as he suddenly found himself dealing with a lapful of affectionate pilot. He was the luckiest damn guy in the world.


End file.
